The First 12 Weeks of Life: Puppy Culture

At Scintilla Kennels, we use the "Puppy Culture" Program to develop our puppies. This program equips them with essential skills and resilience through early socialization, cognitive stimulation, and diverse environmental exposure. Using structured activities and positive reinforcement, we enhance their physical, emotional well-being, and social skills, reducing future behavioral issues. This prepares them to thrive in various settings, making them ideal companions.

What is Puppy Culture?

Puppy Culture is a socialization and training program designed for puppies, covering the period from birth until the conclusion of their crucial socialization phase. It features structured protocols and lessons that are appropriate for each developmental stage.

Puppy Culture operates on the principle that the puppy guides the learning process, with puppies learning most effectively through suitable experiences at the right time. It instructs you to watch the puppy and, using the behavioral indicators you notice, provide the experience or lesson that is best for the puppy at that specific moment.

By letting the puppy lead, we are:

• Maximizing the benefit of any given protocol or lesson

• Minimizing any danger of over-facing or scaring the puppy

• Creating confidence and self-efficacy by presenting the appropriate level of challenge that the puppy CAN do without failing or presenting a danger to himself.

  
  

Appropriate Experiences at the Appropriate Time.

Often, puppies are mistakenly identified as having behavioral or temperament problems when, in reality, they are just being exposed to experiences that aren't suitable for their developmental stage. This mislabeling can negatively impact the puppy for life, leading to unfair treatment from people. By allowing the puppy to guide the process, you can prevent this and appreciate the unique qualities of your puppy. Observing the puppy helps you determine which learning experiences are appropriate. Understanding these experiences and how to provide them effectively is a significant aspect of the Puppy Culture program.

Why is this so crucial? Because what is ideal in one stage of development might be ineffective or even harmful in the next, and vice versa. Therefore, we teach you to understand your puppy's developmental stage and what actions to take currently. Yes, Puppy Culture is a "positive," reinforcement-based program, and we do not employ corrections or outdated dominance theory, but this is merely a result of observing the puppy and providing the learning experience he needs. Additionally, the program is grounded in the latest science and research on puppy and animal upbringing, and feature numerous experts and authors in the film to further elucidate the program's rationale.

Click here to learn more about Puppy Culture and the founder